Premier Kathleen Wynne tonight accepted the acclaim of supporters and thanked Tim Hudak for his service to Ontario. Mr. Hudak told supporters in his home of Niagara Falls that he will resign from the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party after meeting with the executive about a convention to choose a successor. Ms. Wynne won a majority government of 58 seats in the Legislature for the Liberral Party. It was an election triumph that was very unexpected. Polls had suggested a tight race, with a minority government of unknown stripe. There was apparently much last-minute decision-making by many voters. The final days of the campaign saw the PC platform criticized as negative. There was a Liberal drive to make voters fear a Hudak win. The Conservative leader had made inroads against Ms. Wynne in the televised debate, cornering her on the issue of the cancelled gas plants. But in the end it appears that this potent issue was trumped by the fear felt among too many voters that the PCs would somehow cause mass unemployment. Indeed, Hudak was criticised within his own party for announcing a plan to eliminate or fire 100,000 public service workers. As noted below, informed commentators of all parties said tonight that the new Liberal government will be forced to deal with Ontario’s mushrooming deficits. Many called the prospect for the months to come “sobering”. On this night, however, the Premier once again promised a bright future for Ontario in which her government will “build up” the province.
